In Part 1 of this series, we talked about the social nature of wanting to belong to something bigger than yourself as one possible drive for learning tai chi. The social drive is a major aid teachers can rely on to build their base of students. Another one, that we’ll discuss here is our habitual drive, i.e. we are creatures of habit. That can be a good thing when it comes to maintaining a student base, but it is also the first major hurdle you have to clear as a teacher when it comes to getting new students.
Over the weekend, Energy Arts Instructor Jess O’Brien was in town, teaching at BTC. We got to spend some time together and talk about teaching, studying with different teachers, and trying to run a teaching business. One thing that we came back to again and again was how difficult it is to build up a student base. I think I know why. People are Lazy, Social, and Creatures of Habit
I just started working with Bruce’s new meditation program. I’m very excited to hear him framing this home-study series in terms of rhythms, pacing, and long term development. Every couple of weeks he’s putting out new guided practice recordings, which I think will be easy to follow-through on and fresh enough to keep people tuned into their practice. I’ll let you know how it goes! Taoist Meditation Circle “Get out of your head and into your body.
This one is for the Energy Arts Certified Instructors. The new EA website allows you to change the details of your instructor profile when you have a registered account. I think having accurate and updated information is helpful, especially if you decide to become an active contributor on the forum.
I’ve been working with the team at Energy Arts on various projects, but mainly in the capacity as a community coordinator. Currently, my focus is on helping them get a new community discussion forum off the ground, but I also had the chance to participate in the launch of their new Ba Gua Mastery Program. The Ba Gua Mastery Program is a home-study program with information on circle-walking for meditation and martial arts.
Last week I got back from two weeks in the UK doing an instructor training with Bruce Frantzis on Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body, the core chi gung set in his program. We’re right back into the swing of classes now, but I wanted to post a little review before too much time passes. The Energy Gates set is made up of six different exercises – they run the gamut from standing still holding a simple posture, to vigorous shifting, turning, and swinging.
